Countertops unveiled!

I should wait to post pictures until we are done with the kitchen. We are not even approaching done... we have moved on to thinking about wall tiles and hardwood floors. We are able to think about these things because... drum roll please... the granite countertops are in!

We went counter shopping a few Saturdays ago. Of course we found the slab we liked in the last shop we tried. I had a car full of tired, hungry, and hot kids who were DONE with the whole process, and a husband who insisted that I had to come in and have a look at this piece... it was a cream colour, not what I planned on at all. I spent the next couple of weeks feeling that I may have made the decision under a touch of duress and hoping that I hadn't made a mistake.

When the fabricators came they brought in the smallest piece first, put it in place, and I thought 'I hate it. It's far too pale.' And then they brought the rest of it in, and I love it. I really do!

The slab is basically cream, but it has a lot of colour and movement in it. Some parts are more grey -

and some parts are more brown, though there are touches of red, black, and even green tones in there too. It's going to make picking out wall tiles a lot of fun!

So here is my new kitchen:

The sink is massive. I put dishes in there and I can't even see them, it's so deep. I love it! And look at that built-in soap dispenser on the right. How posh do we think we are? I'm quite amused by that soap dispenser, I don't really know why! 

Floors and tiles are next! We're moving forward!

On kitchens and marriage...

This morning as I was mopping the floor I thought about the old kitchen. It was tiny... just four squares of linoelum across, in fact. It was a ridiculously small space. Unworkable. The minute we moved into this house we said that the kitchen had to go... and it has. We just did all the other rooms first.

The concrete floor shows the outline of the old kitchen cupboards- and how tiny the floor space was

 One person felt cramped in that kitchen, but to have two people in there? It was almost impossible.You were forever reaching across each other and walking around each other to get to something and bumping into each other.

Now Jeff and I are not the sort of couple that sit around gazing into each other's eyes.... in fact, sometimes I think that throughout our marriage we have built up a sort of comedy reputation from all of our public disagreeing and bickering. We don't agree on many things!

A couple of years ago some friends came to stay for the weekend, and they brought one of their friends with them whom we did not know. We had a fun weekend, and it was great to catch up. However that weekend sticks in my mind for another reason. At some point we realised that we hadn't eaten and needed dinner quick. Jeff and I got into the kitchen and made and served dinner in about 12 minutes flat. George was watching us and although I don't remember the exact words he used, he basically said 'Wow. It's like watching ballroom dancers.' We did know exactly how and when to move to work with and around each other in that tiny space.

Any working marriage has to be a miracle of cooperation. And I was grateful that somebody saw past all of our comedy bickering and surface disagreements. Our tiny kitchen showed him - and me - that we too can be - and are - a miracle of cooperation. And I am grateful for the insight.

Happy Birthday to Kate!

Kate turned four yesterday, on Mother's Day, which was perfect. When I think about how badly she was wanted by the time she arrived, it's fitting that her birthday fell on Mother's Day this year!

She is such a little cutie. She loves everything she opens. Grandma sent a birthday card which we told her she couldn't open until her birthday... she wanted to open it first thing when she woke up and I had to read her the message three times. Nana sends cute little animated cards on the computer and she watched her computer birthday card play through a few times too!

Ellie is so funny.... she'll take any excuse to whip out the scissors and chop up pieces of paper to make things. So she made Kate a birthday crown.

When it came time for cake, Kate made pretty heavy weather of blowing out the candles. It took ages and she kept stopping to explain that she couldn't do it - but she eventually did!

This picture just makes me laugh... the kids' table with cousin Aaron!

She is so easy to please. She was so thrilled with the presents she got from her aunts and friend Claire that we almost didn't give her the things we bought for her! But we did. And she was thrilled with them too! She is great to buy for, she always loves what she gets!

She had a great birthday. I can't believe she's four... actually I can't believe that she will be five next year and off to school. I am going to make the most of this last year of having her at home with me - a promise I made to myself on Mother's Day.

Happy Birthday to Jeff!

Today is Jeff's birthday. We celebrated last night because everyone was coming over for Fast Sunday dinner, so it seemed like the best time. I made him a MONSTER birthday cake. It even had cherries on the top! I don't have any pictures of it before we cut into it, but it was a good looking cake. At least before half of the topping on the top landslipped off down one side. I need to work on my level-layering skills.

Jeff deserved a great cake - two weeks ago our back slider broke. Given that we are in the middle of a kitchen remodel we went with a new back slider instead of repairing the old grungy one. And actually I don't know if  it could have been repaired. It just stopped sliding and the only way to open the door was to actually physically pick it up out of the groove and move it over.

Jeff decided at about 3pm on a Saturday to replace it.

 And it was all over by bedtime. Well done to Jeff!

 May is a crazy month in this house. We have three birthdays to get through. Though I think the standard of cakes will only decline rather than improve! That was a monster cake and I don't think I'm going to top it for a while!